Comfort assessment of two nZEBs in Norway

Abstract

This work presents the results of a survey and measurement campaign carried on in two wooden buildings in Trondeim, Norway. These are one tower in a student accommodation complex, the Moholt Allmenning, constituted by five CLT towers of 9 floors each, and a mixed CLT-and-timber-frame educational building, the Haukåsen kindergarten. Both buildings comply with the Norwegian Passive house standard and the kindergarten complies with the BREAAM certification as well. Questionnaires focussing on the buildings' users thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort, and on the IAQ were submitted. Measurements of the indoor operative temperature and CO₂ levels were performed. The measurements showed that both buildings are in the NS 15251 Class I with regards to the thermal environment, in both summer and winter. The questionnaires that the perceived dissatisfaction is somewhat higher than that assessed in the measurements, leading to a lower rating, especially in the student housing. One of the most reported issue in the student housing was the noise level, which resulted in 28% of student dissatisfied.